Acceleration is the Key
The compromise they came up with was a graduated tax threshold that would increase to the expected top mark of $210 million only in the fifth year of the agreement. Most close observers, including this one, were shocked at the announcement.
Instead of jumping from the 2016 limit of $189 million to $210 immediately in 2017, it went up to only $195 last year and just to $197 this year.
As soon as the players agreed to that, they helped create much of what is going on right now.
But there might still be a fix. The CBA is not a locked document. Both sides have in the past routinely made changes to it while it was in effect.
However, it would be wrong of me to assert that I know all the intimate details of how and when this can be done, so I am far from certain this falls within that purview. Assuming it can be done, though, it should be, and immediately.
I think it is safe to assume that the teams all fighting for supremacy this year would like to gain a more competitive edge. But most of them are already at or near the current luxury tax threshold, including but not limited to the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, and Cubs.
If each of them could spend another thirteen million this season, most of them would.
That alone might mean Jake Arrieta, Mike Moustakas, and Lance Lynn all have homes by now. That can, in turn, put downward pressure on teams that want to compete but are not willing to go all in, forcing teams with more modest projections to sign players or lose relevance.
The Giving Tree
However, as anyone who has been to an MLB game can tell you, concessions are not free. I have no idea what the owners would want for this acceleration, but the players must be willing to do what it takes to implement this single suggestion.
That also means not all these ideas can work at the same time. The players have only so much to give up, and some ideas might clash. Instead, this is more like a Julebord in which you are meant to choose your favorite Lutefisk dish and a couple of complimentary sides.
Okay, now let’s try a win-win: It’s time to expand the rosters.